Florida port ID bill falls short of industry's expectations

With a federal access card required to enter Florida seaports since January, maritime businesses and port officials lobbied hard in Tallahassee to eliminate a state-mandated ID card. Why go through the extra hassle and expense, they asked. But the bill signed by Gov. Charlie Crist this month fell short of the industry's expectations. The good news: the Federal Transportation Worker Credential, or TWIC, will become the only ID necessary — when the feds come up with a scanner to read the cards. The bad news: Until then, workers must carry the TWIC and IDs issued by individual ports under state rules. Also, workers will continue to need separate criminal background checks for each card.